Says it's red & white wine barreled, but i guess this is the entry.Pours muddy dark ruby-brown, a slim cap of beige foam that lasts for a very long time.Smell hits you with alcoholic raspberry jam, with a bit of tartness and backed by lots of Belgian sugary malts, with tons of molasses, caramel, faint butterscotch and spices. Of course, lots of fig and raisin, extra musty red grapes and some mild oaky barrel. This should be hell-a tasty.Big mix of dark malts and fresh raspberries in the front, sourness battling it out with heavy quad dark malts, backed by caramel, some faint roast, very faint chocolate and heavy molasses. Red wine (with an extra crisp edge, i guess from the white wine barrel) mostly, mixed with dry dark fruit (fig and raisin, duh), juicy plum and forest berries. Fruitiness is so overwhelming that the barrel notes are barely felt, some oak, wet stave, very old wood. Some barnyard funk around also. Spiciness also, with faint vanilla and the Belgian-type clove, some candi sugar, faint licorice and aromatic herbs, like plantain. Finish has acetic vinegar, "twigy" white wine, green hay and alcohol, that go through to the aftertaste and set up camp, along with berry fruitiness.Medium (maybe a bit light) bodied, medium prickly carbonation. Alcohol is felt from start to finish (more and more), boozy, yes, but manages to perfectly blend red wine with Belgian quad.Really something else. At last i feel like i pay (handsomely) for a Mikkeller and it delivers entirely. Huge complexity, maybe a bit too much at times, trying to dazzle you. (1,572 characters)

Pours a muddy brown with a thick beige head that diminishes into a thin line that does not dissipate. The fragrance is strong of raspberry with a slightly astringent smell.

The taste is very good. Tart and fruity like a dry white wine, but complex and almost of rancid grape on the finish. The flavor of stone fruit is evident as it should be in a nice quad. Great mouthfeel. The subtle tartness makes me want to continue to take another sip. Great job on this one. (467 characters)

Very pleased with this beer. First taste is of raspberry truffles. The middle hits you with a white wine warmth and then a sweet, port-like aftertaste. It really takes my love of a darker malt beer and adds some unique flavors I'm not used to getting from a stout or imperial stout. Definitely a sipper! (303 characters)

This beer is dark brown and thick, with red-brown highlights at the edges. The brown head grows to an impressive height and thickness, has good retention, and leaves sticky patches and spots of lacing in good quantity.The smell is potent out of the bottle. The first hit is tart and tangy raspberry but very much like red wine, vinous and ripe with tannins as expected. The initial smell (though not the look) tells me something like Flanders red, then it immediately gives more of an impression of brown ale character more like an Oud Bruin, but there's more to it. The heavy malts base, seeming addition of candi sugars, and light notes of a Belgian yeast strain make it earthier with a subtle sweetness playing well and allowing the tartness to set the stage. It gets mellower as well as more flavorful and complex as it sits and the sweetness mingles even more. The entire way there's a prominent barley-like, possibly roasted dark malts overtone. Alcohol is masked like I've ever smelled or tasted any beer with an ABV this high to manage; this is one of few beers with which it is simply impossible from the aroma or flavor to know it's got a 10% ABV. It does warm, though, and the drinker should be careful with this one.The feel isn't bad, moderate carbonation setting the tone in a medium body with a consistent crispness. (1,333 characters)

Dark brown and with a purpleish tint, you can tell just from the color of the beer that it has some dark secrets. As the firm semi-spritzy, semi-creamy head form, even it conveys burgundy tint. Solid retention and broken lace is the constant reminder of the wine and berry infusion that decorates the beer.

Aromas are absolutely mouthwatering (I'm not sure if astringency is relegated to mouthfeel only) as the sharp and juicy berry and vinous scent puckers the jowls and whets the whistle. The backdrop of Belgian strong dark ale is easily dwarfed in favor of the fruit additions and barrel aging. Port wine, sherry, and raspberry extract come to mind much more quickly than does any beer.

Where the beer provides the tepid underlying maltiness that houses the carbonation and grounds the finesse esters and spices, the beer enjoys the beating that it takes by the brunt of sheer raspberry puree- so rich are the fruit flavor that it conjures memories of prune juice, lemon, dates and figs. Currant, red grape, black plumb, sweet tobacco, apple, and blackberry notes only add to the fruity matrix. With no hop bitterness in sight, the beer relies on the fruit and barrel tannin to balance the malt and fruit; which it does to perfection. Surprisingly, the sweetness of the beer is thin and terse, relying on the fruit acidity to carry the beer from early palate and into its extended aftertaste.

Full bodied to start, the beer's creamy carbonation and fully malted textures derive a very dessert-like experience. But just when you expect the dripping weight of residual sweetness to coax the palate, there's instead a thin and acidic sweetness that prefers a balance of dry merlot. With all those fruity acids, woody tannin, and vinous dryness going on, the beer is every bit as complex in texture as it is to taste.

Where I was luke-warm in my affection for the regular Monk's Brew, this version is seductive and as guilty of a sin for me as beer gets. I know not to become enamored by the fruit, or the barrel aging, or the wine influence. But as a culinary delight, I simply cannot help myself. This is an extraordinary fruit beer that begs a pairing of chocolate truffles. (2,288 characters)

Pours a dark purple color. 1/3 inch head of an off-pink color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of alcohol, hint of liquor, raspberries, sweet malt, dry hops, and dark fruit/wine. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. There is also a noticeable tartness. Fits the style of a Quadruple. Tastes of raspberries, citrus, slight syrup, hint of hop, alcohol, slight grass, hint of earthy malt, and hint of wine. Overall, strong tartness, strong body, but alcohol not too strong. Great blend, body, aroma, and complexity. (550 characters)

Pours mahogany in colors with light red juicy hue and a fizzy thin tan head that dissipates quickly.

Nose has some bright fruity and wood aromas. Oak and an apple like ester sweetness give it an aroma similar to that of a crisp caramel apple. Light malt sweetness and raspberry tartness add some great complexity.

Taste is awesome. There is a good presence if oak and wine forward before a huge rush of raspberry juicy tartness washes over the entire palate. There is a cranberry like tartness also present that works reall well with the dry oak and wine flavors.

Mouthfeel has great complexity. Juicy crisp feel along with a big tartness gives this a very refreshing feel that has an incredibly complex finish. (714 characters)

Very dark beer even for a quad... silent chocolate body with an edge of burgundy clarity, a healthy tan head dissipates after a few minutes leaving all kinds of lacing - great looking beer.

The red wine and raspberry really do take over the aroma... faint barrel character, some powdered sugar, pretty fruity between the grapes and berries, a bit of smooth vanilla, the classic quad characteristics take a back seat to the adjustments made and I'm not complaining.

On the tongue, raspberries really take the reigns. Not overly sweet but definitely focused - raspberry shortcake next to a glass of merlot. Like nothing else I can think of, this certainly isn't brewed strictly to style but it presents a very intriguing pallet of flavors.

Super drinkable given the ABV... would buy again for sure. (799 characters)

Cloudy chestnut brown with thick puffy foam that leaves chunky lace in its wake. Beautiful nose of intense raspberries (chambord, jammy notes). A touch of funky earth, bakers chocolate and some bramble along with a balsamic note before the beerbegan to warm. The taste brings beautiful sweet and sour raspberries, mexican oregano?, plum and raisin with a slight sherry rancio note and a vinous almost chateaunuef du pape character in this beer, really enjoyed its complexity and i am struggling to come up with descriptions. Very refreshing and hides its abv well with a slight sourness and good carb cleaning up for the coming sip. Well done and as usual i just wish his beers weren't so expensive. (699 characters)

Live review. Poured from the 12.7 oz. bottle that I bought at Save-On in Mentor for $12.99 last week. 4401204 stamped on the top of the cap, over the gold foil which covers the cap. I am not sure what that might mean or if it is even significant. Poured into a clean, clear glass.

A Murky dark black cherry body that does not let light through but there are edges of dark black cherry. On top of that body is a significant 3 inch light brown head with only moderate pour that lingers for 3 minutes. Additionally, a LOT of sediment in the bottom of the bottle makes it even more murky as you get closer to the bottom of the bottle. Great look. 4.5

S Sweet malt with raspberries. I expected this given the style and the inclusion of raspberries. I guess it is even more sweet with a "deeper" raspberry smell than I might have guessed. The smell is magnetic! 4.0

T Wow, there is so much going on with the taste of this beer....where to start? First is a Kriek like tartness, the middle is a very sweet malt, there is a sense of red wine also in the middle and then a finish of some heat (alcohol). The raspberry is certainly there too but not like a raspberry from, say, Lindeman's Framboise (a kind of candy or fruit punch raspberry) but more of (like mentioned already) a tart Kriek like raspberry. This might be the most dynamic tasting beer that I have ever tasted! It is nothing if not challenging and complex. 4.5

M The kriek tartness, the significant malt sweetness, the sense of red wine and the heat of the alcohol all drive up the mouthfeel for me. The beer dances across my tongue in a symphony of tastes. 4.5

D/O Drinkability is not that good. The huge ABV and "big" tastes means that I could only ever have one of these in an evening (as I will this evening). Additionally, it costs more than $1 per ounce so that drives down the drinkability for me. Overall this is a very interesting beer. I suspect, though, that only beer geeks (like me) would be interested since it is so 1. expensive and 2. complex, challenging rating: 4.0 (2,047 characters)

murky brown body with some amber hues around the edges. thick light brown head settles in to a frothy wispy cap. spotty lacing is left behind. at arms length away there are huge notes of raspberries and red wine. this is not your typical quad, the big malty body and abv are hidden by the rspberries and merlot notes. very tart with a long bone dry finish that leaves me wanting more. carbonation might be a touch much, as it seems very lively on the tongue. didn't think i would end up liking this straight from the fridge but as it warms it really grows on me. (562 characters)

A: pours a deep and opaque brown with a half finger khaki head. Nice retention and lacing. Hints of ruby do make themselves evident as well.S: fruit forward! Raspberries are quite evident on the first whiff and its aroma is eeriely similar to a wine. As it warms, the tart raspberry aroma subsides a bit and mixes beautifully with sweet malts, sugar and other dark fruits. Complex and fantastic.T: not to state the obvious, but its quite tart. However, as it warms, the sweetness of the malt does well to cut the tartness a bit and provide a suitable balance. The sugary notes and vinious qualities resemble a slightly less sweet and more carbonated port wine. Not as boozy as a 10%double abv would normally drink.M: creamy, slick, carbonated. Not as full bodied as other quads I have tried. The finish is dry, but bittersweet. Its unique and pleasant.O: not your typical quad, but I love the interpretation. Let this one warm a bit before you drink it as the warmth really brings out the sweetness that provides levity and really makes this brew work. Highly complex and very enjoyable. (1,091 characters)

M: Medium in body, chewy, and a bit dry for the style. Carbonation is active, but very restrained. Alcohol presence is subdued.

O: Of the three Monk's Brew variations that I've tried to this point, this one is by far the best. The addition of raspberries and aging in wine barrels give this beer a very distinct aroma and taste that I'm finding difficult to compare to anything else. I really like it. Recommended. (810 characters)

Pours a dark brown with a dark, ruby hue to it. Large reddish tan head that takes some time to go down. Very good-looking beer. Scent is quite vinous. Tart red wine aroma with some strong, fresh tart raspberries in the nose. Dark fruits from the base beer, but the raspberries take over. A ton of oak and wine aromas. Very interesting aroma. Taste has some rich, dark fruits at first. Sweet chocolate with some oak and dark fruits, then it becomes tart raspberries. Smooth chocolatey rich beginning, with a tart raspberry, wine-like finish. Some warming booze in the finish as well. The quad is there, but there is also a huge, tart raspberry flavor. I was worried about this one having a slight medicinal flavor, but none whatsoever. Mouthfeel has some nice carbonation, possibly just a tad bit too much. Full bodied with a tart, lip smacking finish. Drinkability is fairly high. Overall, this is one unique beer. This is better than the wine versions of the other dark mikkeller beer. (986 characters)

Appearance: quite dark red brown. Full tan head. Not much light getting through this.Smell: Sublime candied raspberries. Dark fruit and thick port like heft. Great.Taste: Similar to the nose but not as together in the taste. Wonder what this will be like with some age. Overall: another creative and satisfying effort from the artists at Mikkeller. One was hard to come by. Wish I had another to put back for a couple of years. Bet this will be an amazing beer with some age. (478 characters)

12.7 fl oz bottle, with no apparent bottled on date present, but I know this beer is over a year old by now, since it has been over a year since I reviewed the other one, Mikkeller Monk's Brew (Bourbon Barrel Aged). Expectations are fairly high, since I remember enjoying that beer.

Poured into a clear balloon snifter.

A - Pours a dark muddy mahogany colored body with three big fluffy fingers of thick beige head. Fat sheets of lacing. Dark brown speckles where the yeast collected at the bottom of the bottle. Has a pinkish sort of tint to it when swirled and held to the light.

S - Smell is very nice and has a lot going on. Fresh authentic raspberries are apparent, along with dark raisins, dates, figs, woodsy barrel character, musty yeast, caramel malt, slight notes of funk, & some creaminess. Very musty, with some vinous character imparted from the wine barrel aging. Very nice.

T - Tart juicy authentic raspberries come through nicely on the taste, also. I haven't had many raspberry beers, but this one makes good use of them. Woodsy, oaky, and earthy afterwards. Notes of caramel and toffee. Lightly vinous and tart, with a wine-like dry pucker on the end.

M - Feel finishes dry and lightly sticky. Tart with some raspberry lingering on the finish. Medium bodied with good carbonation.

Overall, another nice beer from Mikkeller, I am glad I finally got around to picking this one up. A very nice showcase for the raspberries and the red wine barrel aging, vastly different from it's bourbon barrel aged counterpart. Both are recommended if they are still available to you.

This one pours a medium bodied raisin brown in color with only a slight off white lacing around my glass. The nose is certainly different. It features a sweet, jammy red raspberry upfront followed by raisins, prunes, plum, and a dark and bready Belgian malt. That's about as complex as the nose can be for this style. It's really impressive. The flavors are a nice mix too. There is some tart raspberry with some fruity sweetness upfront with bready malt, red grape character, some prune, and almost some raisin bread. It's enough to make you think about each sip. It really is pretty complex. It drinks a little light in body for the style. I like this one. It isn't spectacular but for $10.99 for a 375ml I can't complain at all. (731 characters)

Pours out a nice dark brown with lots of nice off-white bubbles that lace the glass. Good looking pour.Smell is raspberry and lemon peel with a strong yeast that burns the nose. Can't smell the alcohol.Taste is raspberry and sugar malts with Belgian spices and a slight hint of alcohol.Mouthfeel is very clean at first then turns into a pretty sticky malt feel.Overall this is good but the cost of the thing is a bit much. Other than that, pretty good. (456 characters)

this is extraordinary, but much much different than the regular monks brew, which I recall being so luxurious and rich, I think the acid of the wine barrels cuts through some of that delicacy, but its still lovely in this version. pours a red tinted brown color, syrupy looking in texture with a decent tan head that fades out relatively quickly. the nose is pucker, almost sour, wine tannins and acid, raspberry jam, Belgian yeast. the flavor hits hard, tart as hell from the berries, which are really fresh like all of mikkellers fruited beers. the yeast is robust, and its hard to tell if red or white wine barrels were used, but I kind of think maybe a blend of both, because this has some features of both. honestly, the fruit and barrel treatment almost overwhelm my favorite features of the regular monks brew, the rich chocolate malt interacting with that huge Belgian yeast. the feel here is acidic and thick, carbonation lacking just a bit, but it still feels like something fancy, which I cant really describe but I like it a lot. overall a clever beer, that's been turned totally upside down in this variation. the fruit adds a lot, good stuff. booze is invisible, look out. (1,186 characters)

A: The beer is very hazy brown in color and has some yest particles visible near the bottom of the glass. It poured with a thin beige head that died down a bit, leaving a thin head covering the surface. S: Moderate aromas of dark malts and raspberries are present in the nose - the raspberries remind me of a linzertort. T: The taste has flavors of sweet raspberry purée along with notes of dark malts and hints of red wine. M: It feels medium-bodied and a little tart and dry on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. O: This beer is rather easy to drink because it hides its alcohol very well. The raspberries and wine barrel aging make it taste unlike most other quads. (691 characters)